6,986 research outputs found
Hex is a transcriptional repressor that contributes to anterior identity and suppresses Spemann organiser function
One of the earliest markers of anterior asymmetry in vertebrate embryos is the transcription factor Hex. We find that Hex is a transcriptional repressor that can be converted to an activator by fusing full length Hex to two copies of the minimal transcriptional activation domain of VP16 together with the flexible hinge region of the (lambda) repressor (Hex-(lambda)VP2). Retention of the entire Hex open reading frame allows one to examine Hex function without disrupting potential protein-protein interactions. Expression of Hex-(lambda)VP2 in Xenopus inhibits expression of the anterior marker Cerberus and results in anterior truncations. Such embryos have multiple notochords and disorganised muscle tissue. These effects can occur in a cell non-autonomous manner, suggesting that one role of wild-type Hex is to specify anterior structures by suppressing signals that promote dorsal mesoderm formation. In support of this idea, over-expression of wild-type Hex causes cell non-autonomous dorso-anteriorization, as well as cell autonomous suppression of dorsal mesoderm. Suppression of dorsal mesoderm by Hex is accompanied by the down-regulation of Goosecoid and Chordin, while induction of dorsal mesoderm by Hex-(lambda)VP2 results in activation of these genes. Transient transfection experiments in ES cells suggest that Goosecoid is a direct target of Hex. Together, our results support a model in which Hex suppresses organiser activity and defines anterior identity
Damage function for historic paper. Part I: Fitness for use
Background In heritage science literature and in preventive conservation practice, damage functions are used to model material behaviour and specifically damage (unacceptable change), as a result of the presence of a stressor over time. For such functions to be of use in the context of collection management, it is important to define a range of parameters, such as who the stakeholders are (e.g. the public, curators, researchers), the mode of use (e.g. display, storage, manual handling), the long-term planning horizon (i.e. when in the future it is deemed acceptable for an item to become damaged or unfit for use), and what the threshold of damage is, i.e. extent of physical change assessed as damage. Results In this paper, we explore the threshold of fitness for use for archival and library paper documents used for display or reading in the context of access in reading rooms by the general public. Change is considered in the context of discolouration and mechanical deterioration such as tears and missing pieces: forms of physical deterioration that accumulate with time in libraries and archives. We also explore whether the threshold fitness for use is defined differently for objects perceived to be of different value, and for different modes of use. The data were collected in a series of fitness-for-use workshops carried out with readers/visitors in heritage institutions using principles of Design of Experiments. Conclusions The results show that when no particular value is pre-assigned to an archival or library document, missing pieces influenced readers/visitors’ subjective judgements of fitness-for-use to a greater extent than did discolouration and tears (which had little or no influence). This finding was most apparent in the display context in comparison to the reading room context. The finding also best applied when readers/visitors were not given a value scenario (in comparison to when they were asked to think about the document having personal or historic value). It can be estimated that, in general, items become unfit when text is evidently missing. However, if the visitor/reader is prompted to think of a document in terms of its historic value, then change in a document has little impact on fitness for use
Three-dimensional femtosecond laser nanolithography of crystals
Nanostructuring hard optical crystals has so far been exclusively feasible at
their surface, as stress induced crack formation and propagation has rendered
high precision volume processes ineffective. We show that the inner chemical
etching reactivity of a crystal can be enhanced at the nanoscale by more than
five orders of magnitude by means of direct laser writing. The process allows
to produce cm-scale arbitrary three-dimensional nanostructures with 100 nm
feature sizes inside large crystals in absence of brittle fracture. To showcase
the unique potential of the technique, we fabricate photonic structures such as
sub-wavelength diffraction gratings and nanostructured optical waveguides
capable of sustaining sub-wavelength propagating modes inside yttrium aluminum
garnet crystals. This technique could enable the transfer of concepts from
nanophotonics to the fields of solid state lasers and crystal optics.Comment: Submitted Manuscript and Supplementary Informatio
A mathematical model for breath gas analysis of volatile organic compounds with special emphasis on acetone
Recommended standardized procedures for determining exhaled lower respiratory
nitric oxide and nasal nitric oxide have been developed by task forces of the
European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society. These
recommendations have paved the way for the measurement of nitric oxide to
become a diagnostic tool for specific clinical applications. It would be
desirable to develop similar guidelines for the sampling of other trace gases
in exhaled breath, especially volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which reflect
ongoing metabolism. The concentrations of water-soluble, blood-borne substances
in exhaled breath are influenced by: (i) breathing patterns affecting gas
exchange in the conducting airways; (ii) the concentrations in the
tracheo-bronchial lining fluid; (iii) the alveolar and systemic concentrations
of the compound. The classical Farhi equation takes only the alveolar
concentrations into account. Real-time measurements of acetone in end-tidal
breath under an ergometer challenge show characteristics which cannot be
explained within the Farhi setting. Here we develop a compartment model that
reliably captures these profiles and is capable of relating breath to the
systemic concentrations of acetone. By comparison with experimental data it is
inferred that the major part of variability in breath acetone concentrations
(e.g., in response to moderate exercise or altered breathing patterns) can be
attributed to airway gas exchange, with minimal changes of the underlying blood
and tissue concentrations. Moreover, it is deduced that measured end-tidal
breath concentrations of acetone determined during resting conditions and free
breathing will be rather poor indicators for endogenous levels. Particularly,
the current formulation includes the classical Farhi and the Scheid series
inhomogeneity model as special limiting cases.Comment: 38 page
Transmissibility of pandemic H1N1 and genetically related swine influenza viruses in ferrets
Poster presentationlink_to_OA_fulltextAnnual Scientific Meeting of the Institut Pasteur International Network, Hong Kong, 22–23 November 2010. In BMC Proceedings, 2011, v. 5, suppl. 1, p. 1
Eta Carinae and the Luminous Blue Variables
We evaluate the place of Eta Carinae amongst the class of luminous blue
variables (LBVs) and show that the LBV phenomenon is not restricted to
extremely luminous objects like Eta Car, but extends luminosities as low as
log(L/Lsun) = 5.4 - corresponding to initial masses ~25 Msun, and final masses
as low as ~10-15 Msun. We present a census of S Doradus variability, and
discuss basic LBV properties, their mass-loss behaviour, and whether at maximum
light they form pseudo-photospheres. We argue that those objects that exhibit
giant Eta Car-type eruptions are most likely related to the more common type of
S Doradus variability. Alternative atmospheric models as well as
sub-photospheric models for the instability are presented, but the true nature
of the LBV phenomenon remains as yet elusive. We end with a discussion on the
evolutionary status of LBVs - highlighting recent indications that some LBVs
may be in a direct pre-supernova state, in contradiction to the standard
paradigm for massive star evolution.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, Review Chapter in "Eta Carinae and the supernova
imposters" (eds R. Humphreys and K. Davidson) new version submitted to
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Rural-urban disparities in child nutrition in Bangladesh and Nepal
Background
The persistence of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes in developing countries alongside rapid urbanisation and increasing incidence of child malnutrition in urban areas raises an important health policy question - whether fundamentally different nutrition policies and interventions are required in rural and urban areas. Addressing this question requires an enhanced understanding of the main drivers of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes especially for the vulnerable segments of the population. This study applies recently developed statistical methods to quantify the contribution of different socio-economic determinants to rural-urban differences in child nutrition outcomes in two South Asian countries – Bangladesh and Nepal.
Methods
Using DHS data sets for Bangladesh and Nepal, we apply quantile regression-based counterfactual decomposition methods to quantify the contribution of (1) the differences in levels of socio-economic determinants (covariate effects) and (2) the differences in the strength of association between socio-economic determinants and child nutrition outcomes (co-efficient effects) to the observed rural-urban disparities in child HAZ scores. The methodology employed in the study allows the covariate and coefficient effects to vary across entire distribution of child nutrition outcomes. This is particularly useful in providing specific insights into factors influencing rural-urban disparities at the lower tails of child HAZ score distributions. It also helps assess the importance of individual determinants and how they vary across the distribution of HAZ scores.
Results
There are no fundamental differences in the characteristics that determine child nutrition outcomes in urban and rural areas. Differences in the levels of a limited number of socio-economic characteristics – maternal education, spouse’s education and the wealth index (incorporating household asset ownership and access to drinking water and sanitation) contribute a major share of rural-urban disparities in the lowest quantiles of child nutrition outcomes. Differences in the strength of association between socio-economic characteristics and child nutrition outcomes account for less than a quarter of rural-urban disparities at the lower end of the HAZ score distribution.
Conclusions
Public health interventions aimed at overcoming rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes need to focus principally on bridging gaps in socio-economic endowments of rural and urban households and improving the quality of rural infrastructure. Improving child nutrition outcomes in developing countries does not call for fundamentally different approaches to public health interventions in rural and urban areas
Atomic excitation during recollision-free ultrafast multi-electron tunnel ionization
Modern intense ultrafast pulsed lasers generate an electric field of
sufficient strength to permit tunnel ionization of the valence electrons in
atoms. This process is usually treated as a rapid succession of isolated
events, in which the states of the remaining electrons are neglected. Such
electronic interactions are predicted to be weak, the exception being
recollision excitation and ionization caused by linearly-polarized radiation.
In contrast, it has recently been suggested that intense field ionization may
be accompanied by a two-stage `shake-up' reaction. Here we report a unique
combination of experimental techniques that enables us to accurately measure
the tunnel ionization probability for argon exposed to 50 femtosecond laser
pulses. Most significantly for the current study, this measurement is
independent of the optical focal geometry, equivalent to a homogenous electric
field. Furthermore, circularly-polarized radiation negates recollision. The
present measurements indicate that tunnel ionization results in simultaneous
excitation of one or more remaining electrons through shake-up. From an atomic
physics standpoint, it may be possible to induce ionization from specific
states, and will influence the development of coherent attosecond XUV radiation
sources. Such pulses have vital scientific and economic potential in areas such
as high-resolution imaging of in-vivo cells and nanoscale XUV lithography.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, original format as accepted by Nature Physic
Bench-to-bedside review : targeting antioxidants to mitochondria in sepsis
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Moral insanity and psychological disorder: the hybrid roots of psychiatry
This paper traces the significance of the diagnosis of ‘moral insanity’ (and the related diagnoses of ‘monomania’ and ‘manie sans délire’) to the development of psychiatry as a profession in the nineteenth century. The pioneers of psychiatric thought were motivated to explore such diagnoses because they promised public recognition in the high status surroundings of the criminal court. Some success was achieved in presenting a form of expertise that centred on the ability of the experts to detect quite subtle, ‘psychological’ forms of dangerous madness within the minds of offenders in France and more extensively in England. Significant backlash in the press against these new ideas pushed the profession away from such psychological exploration and back towards its medical roots that located criminal insanity simply within the organic constitution of its sufferers
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